Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Coccomyces dentatus - An Ascomycete

I can't wait to get out into the woods to see some spring fungi. Since I haven't been out yet, I'm going to post a fungus I saw last spring. Its called Coccomyces dentatus. Its an ascomycete, which means its spores are in a sac called an ascus. This one is on an Oregon Grape leaf.
The black dots are the fruiting bodies which are cups where the spores are released. The lines are borders where the mycelium from two individuals have met and are sexually incompatible. Here's a closer picture.